Funk Bros question

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

When/how did the name "Funk Brothers" come about? I know that Gordy was kind of conservative
and "funk" wasn't proper at the time. Or as George Clinton would say "Funk use to be a bad word"
Thanks in advance

[robb_k]

Didn't the term emerge from among the session players themselves? They felt that the direction of the "funky sound" of The Motown session players came from that central core group of bass, guitars, piano/keyboards drums, and percussion.

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Yeah but when did they first called themselves Funk Bros? Mid 60's? Early 70's?

[dzMusica]

When/how did the name "Funk Brothers" come about? I know that Gordy was kind of conservative
and "funk" wasn't proper at the time. Or as George Clinton would say "Funk use to be a bad word"
Thanks in advance

Mickey Stevenson came up with it. In the early '60s.

[StuBass1]

It did come from the musicians themselves. According to Joe Hunter [[in the SITSOM film) it was Benny Benjamin who proclaimed the moniker as he was leaving a session one day. True...Berry Gordy at the time didn't like the word "funk" and on the Earl VanDyke recordings to come out of Motown at the time they used the name Earl VanDyke and The Soul Brothers...which they also used for a while on their club dates.

[bankhousedave]

It came to refer to all the players. There is a viewpoint that says the real Funk Brothers were Earl, Robert, James and Uriel, originally - ie those that played live outside the studio in the various clubs of Detroit - and some people still hold to this. I think that Joe was referring to the fact that Benny said all the guys who worked in the Snakepit were all Funk Brothers. There were a lot of them, not just the few who were promoted in Alan's film.

Earl was my hero, but the truth is that Mickey was the leader and creator of the ensembles with that name, and was also their greatest champion.

[StuBass1]

Without getting into Mickey Stevenson and all the things he's been credited with,
by himself or others...I became familiar with the moniker Funk Brothers in the early 70's as a term describing the Motown rhythm section...unlike MFSB which recorded under that name and included all the musicians. I've had this discussion with Jack Ashford and I know that Joe Messina also refers to The Funk Brothers as the rhythm section going way back...well before Slutskys research and subsequent film which does coincide with my understanding of the origin. Obviously, when I submitted the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award nomination and The Hollywood Walk Of Fame submission I discussed this topic with Funk Brothers and others associated with the topic. Through a book, film, and numerous awards and recognitions...the only dissenters from the conventional story comes from those who may stand to personally benefit by having their name associated with The Funk Brothers.

[bankhousedave]

Hey Stu: You know I'm not in contention with you, and I like to think of Jack as a friend. I'm just being devil's advocate on the fact that some local Detroit people will not accept anyone but Earl, Robert, James and Uriel as the Funk Brothers that played the clubs. I know what you're saying about what Mickey might have been credited with, but he hired the players. The few guys who were on the film were the core players, but that's all. I'm speaking as a fan, nay a worshipper, of Earl, Papa Joe, Eddie Bongo, Robert, Eddie, Joe Messina, Jack Brokensha [[not in the movie), Uriel, Pistol, Benny, etc., etc.

[StuBass1]

Hi Dave...Yeah...I just try to go with what I've discussed with credible sources since I affixed my name to some of that stuff so I consider my credibility to be on the line which I don't take lightly. While there may be some room for discussion and clarification on this topic, I'm pretty quite satisfied that Slutsky got it substantially right. Obviously, a guy like Jack Brokenshaw is legitimate fodder for discussion, along with possibly a couple of others, but in the final analysis I'm convinced that the Motown rhythm section regulars were The Funk Brothers and will go down in music history as such.

Cheers...

[tmd]

I have been following his posting since the early 2000's- he is the definitive expert on Jamerson and his excellent forum site taught me a ton.
I agree with everything he has to say.

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Thanks all. The first time I heard of The Funk Bros I actually thought they were blood brothers

[StuBass1]

I have been following his posting since the early 2000's- he is the definitive expert on Jamerson and his excellent forum site taught me a ton.
I agree with everything he has to say.

I don't claim the be the definitive expert tmd, but growing up as a musician playing around Detroit we were all influenced by the Motown musicians. I actually had the benefit of discussing this very topic with my brother who not only worked at Motown in adetroit and Los Angeles, but hired Earl and Robert to tour in the early 70's and studied guitar with Joe Messina going back to the 50's and they've been close friends ever since. Obviously what guys like those and folks like Lamont Dozier who Bruce also worked with know the real skinny and who was who. Allan Slutsky started his research in the mid 80's following James Jamersons death and did a ton of research coinciding with facts I'd known for many years. It was Allan who saw the human interest story there and put forth a great effort to share the story with the public through his book and film...so there are many people who know the deal on The Funk Brothers before the public at large got the story from Allan.

[ralpht]

Well put, Stu. I think what most people don't quite understand is, that all of us who were working musicians in 60's Detroit were pretty much all connected, and it is not unusual for us to know first hand much of what is surmised or discussed on this forum. It is the way it was and we never thought it to be any big deal at the time. Great days, though, huh Stu?

[StuBass1]

Good old days indeed Ralph, and our parents often wondered if we'd ever amount to anything LOL.

[tmd]

It has been a pleasure reading the first hand knowledge that you both have on Motown. I consider myself in laymen terms as a pretty knowledgable Motown aficiano, but I am truly a rookie compared to most of these well informed poster.
Just glad to have been one of the original blogers back in the begining.
Ralph, hope you plan on writing more books on the subject- I enjoyed the first one very much.

[ralpht]

Thank you TMD. It is nice to be appreciated. As far as another book: I'm kicking around ideas, but my loving wife, Jesse, is well aware of my penchant for procrastination, so it could be a while. Did you read my book on my brother, Russ? "Russ Terrana's Motown" in case you missed it. Thanks again.

[tmd]

I read the Road Through Motown, but I will look Russ up on Amazon. Keep all your knowledge coming. You provide a tremendous service for the history of Motown and for future generations- first hand from the source.